Daily Nourishment for August 6, 2024: Time Moves around Us and Our Kitchen Tables with Guidance from Dani Shapiro and Joy Harjo
Daily Nourishment Read Time: 40 seconds
Pause/Prompt/Practice Time: 15 minutes
"I've always wanted to write a novel that spans a significant amount of time with the same characters and really look at the way that a family or more than one family grows and changes over time," says Shapiro. "And I didn't want time to work linearly in this book. I think time moves around inside of us, when we have memories. It's like everything that's ever happened keeps on happening in a way, and I wanted to capture that." - Dani Shapiro, People magazine
Pause.
Take six deep breaths with a six-count inhale and a six-count exhale. Then read or listen to “Perhaps the World Ends Here” by Joy Harjo.
Prompt.
Read the Dani Shapiro quote above one or two more times.
Then read the poem in the Pause one or two more times.
Practice.
Set a timer for 10 minutes and journal or take notes in response to the questions below:
What’s a specific event that you experienced during the past few years that’s somehow connected to your kitchen table that’s still happening now, still unfolding now?
How is it still happening?
Why is it still happening?
How has your relationship with this event changed?
How have you changed with regard to this event?
Use your notes to begin writing a new essay, story, poem, or letter if you like.
Want More?
Read Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life by Dani Shapiro
Read The Woman Who Fell from the Sky: Poems by Joy Harjo
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Upcoming Workshops & Gatherings
—The August Co-Writing Schedule is live.
—Spiritual Direction for Writers® + Enneagram for Creativity Gathering will take place on Saturday, September 28th. Recordings will be available if you can’t join us live. Early Bird registration live through September 9th.
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Today’s Daily Nourishment was provided by Charlotte Donlon.
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